NYSDOT announces opening of Syracuse outreach centers for the I-81 project

SYRACUSE, N.Y. — The New York State Department of Transportation (NYSDOT) on Wednesday announced the opening of the Syracuse outreach centers for the Interstate 81 (I-81) viaduct-replacement project.

The centers are located at Tucker Missionary Baptist Church at 515 Oakwood Ave. in Syracuse and at the Hills Building at 217 Montgomery St., near Syracuse City Hall.

The centers are part of the community-engagement process for the project, David Smith, NYSDOT regional director, told the gathering at the Wednesday afternoon announcement at Tucker Missionary Baptist Church.

“The outreach centers continue that effort. [They’ll] enable us to continue to engage with the community; enable the community to come in, share any concerns that they have with us, and we can talk about those concerns,” Smith said in his remarks.

He went on to say the project represents an “historic opportunity for the community in terms of jobs.” Members of the Urban Jobs Task Force were among those attending the announcement.

The community outreach centers are a “crucial component” to fulfilling the local-hire goal as they’ll provide direct access to the necessary information get trained and hired for the project, Dekha Dancil, president of the board of directors of the Urban Jobs Task Force, said in her remarks.

She also noted the department’s commitment to a 15 percent local hiring goal for the I-81 project.

“That’s about 4,000 of the 26,000 jobs that are going to be available on the project. These are not just jobs but rather opportunities for life-changing careers as skill tradesmen and women, so it’s a big win for Syracuse,” Dancil said.

NYSDOT has awarded the first two contracts for the projects and the work is underway, Smith said. The first contract focuses on the northern interchange and the second contract focuses on the southern interchange.

The project will allow the community “to experience some hope, healing, and help,” DeCarto Draper, Jr., pastor of the Tucker Missionary Baptist Church, told the gathering in his remarks.

“We’re looking forward to making sure that our church doors are open to make sure we’re not just serving our congregants but we’re also serving this community,” Draper said.